The youngest of the five children of José Fares, Lebanese immigrant to Brazil, and Dona Francisca, Fagner was born in Fortaleza, the capital of the state of Ceará, although his birth was recorded in Orós.
At the age of five years he won a youth competition at a local radio station. As a teen, he formed vocal and instrumental groups and began to compose his own music. In 1968 he won the Festival de Música Popular do Ceará (Popular Music Festival of Ceará) with his song "Nada Sou" (I am Nothing).
In 1971 he moved to the capital Brasília, taking first place in the Festival de Música Popular do Centro de Estudos Universitários de Brasília (Popular Music Festival of the University Studies Center of Brasília) with his piece "Mucuripe" (with collaborator Belchior), which was later recorded by artist Elis Regina, and became Fagner's first notable success as a composer. He won prizes in other categories with additional pieces, as well.
He has had a distinguished career as a performer, singer, songwriter and composer for over 3 decades, and is also known for his collaborations with other MPB artists such as Caetano Veloso, Roberta Miranda, Chico Buarque and others.
Dezembros
Fagner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E a beleza no artifício da cidade
Num edifício sem janelas
Esqueci que a vida é bela
Entre vestígios de bala
E a luz da televisão
Os meus olhos têm a fome do horizonte
Por dezembros atravesso
Oceanos e desertos
Tanta morte assim tão perto
Minha vida em suas mãos
O trem se vai
Na noite sem estrelas
E o dia vem
Nem eu nem trem nem ela
Revelaste a natureza da manhã
E a beleza no artifício da cidade
Num edifício sem janelas
Esqueci que a vida é bela
Entre vestígios de bala
E a luz da televisão
Os meus olhos têm a fome do horizonte
Sua face é um espelho sem promessas
Por dezembros atravesso
Oceanos e desertos
Tanta morte assim tão perto
Minha vida em suas mãos
O trem se vai
Na noite sem estrelas
E o dia vem
Nem eu nem trem nem ela
O trem se vai
Na noite sem estrelas
E o dia vem
Nem eu nem trem nem ela
In Fágner's song Dezembros, the singer is reflecting on his surroundings and how they have affected his perspective on life. He notes the contrast between the beauty of nature and the artificiality of the city, particularly in a building with no windows where he has forgotten that life can be beautiful. He is surrounded by the remnants of violence and the light of television, suggesting a disconnect from reality.
The lyrics then turn to the singer's desire for something more, as his eyes hunger for the horizon and his companion's face reflects a lack of promises. He crosses oceans and deserts in December, a time traditionally associated with endings and beginnings, and feels the weight of death and danger always near. He realises that his life is in his companion's hands.
The chorus repeats the image of the disappearing train in a starless night, suggesting a sense of loss and loneliness. The day comes, but nothing changes for the singer, and he remains disconnected from the world around him.
Overall, the lyrics seem to convey a feeling of disillusionment and searching for meaning in a world that seems devoid of it. The contrast between nature and the city, and the disconnect from reality portrayed through the lack of windows and the light of television, suggest a need for escape and a return to something more authentic.
Line by Line Meaning
Revelaste a natureza da manhã
You showed me the beauty of the morning
E a beleza no artifício da cidade
And the beauty in the artificiality of the city
Num edifício sem janelas
In a building without windows
Esqueci que a vida é bela
I forgot that life is beautiful
Entre vestígios de bala
Among traces of bullets
E a luz da televisão
And the light of the television
Os meus olhos têm a fome do horizonte
My eyes have hunger for the horizon
Sua face é um espelho sem promessas
Your face is a mirror without promises
Por dezembros atravesso
I cross through Decembers
Oceanos e desertos
Oceans and deserts
Tanta morte assim tão perto
So much death so close
Minha vida em suas mãos
My life in your hands
O trem se vai
The train goes away
Na noite sem estrelas
In the starless night
E o dia vem
And the day comes
Nem eu nem trem nem ela
Neither me nor the train nor her
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Fausto Nilo, Raimundo Fagner Lopes, Jose De Ribamar Coelho Santos
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind